Today we hear from the Fed that the current credit crunch is making history:
The Federal Reserve said the proportion of U.S. banks making it tougher for companies and consumers to borrow approached a record in the past three months as the credit crunch deepened.
A net 70 percent of banks increased loan rates over their cost of funds for commercial and industrial borrowing, according to the central bank’s quarterly survey of senior loan officers released today in Washington. That compares with 45 percent in the January survey, the Fed said.
So the the acceleration of home price declines is accompanied by an acceration in the tightening of lending standards. No surprise there.
Interestingly enough, it was almost 3 years ago I dubbed Sir Alan, “Captain Crunch.” Considering his successor, Uncle Ben, is now in charge of this debacle, it is only fitting the title is passed to him.
Source:
Fed Says ‘Historical Highs’ of Banks Tighten Lending Standards
Scott Lanman
Bloomberg